lol...every time i load up my truck, i think of that line from the matrix...
niobe: "ah $#!&, she's got a fat ass!" (as the hovercraft bangs off a rock)
well, i'm bored at work, here goes...
fiberglass really does lighten the load. bedsides will help where you need it most tho, trimming the fat from the fenders and hood is a great idea only if you have plans for a winch and are willing to mess with your spring rates in front if the weight goes down too much. otherwise, it's a great way to get some tire clearance. you can trim the glass, too...it's really, really easy to work with. ditch anything below the frame and behind the wheel...it's not much, but it's something and you wont beat it on the trail.
if you need to build something, and you wont be bouncing said something off the rocks, go larger diameter tube and thinner wall...the tradeoff is less dent resistance, but better bending resistance and lighter weight. youll need to check the weight per length specs on a supplier website, there are a few, but youll find that 1.75" tube in a thin wall is stronger in a bending or torsion load than, say, 1.5" tube. sliders are not a good place to make that trade
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plastic skid plates work great if youre well under 4K# and/or have the time and money to invest in building a subframe and sourcing the uhmw plastic. plenty of info at pirate about plastic skid plates, just search "uhmw skid plate" and youll get a ton of info...but honestly, for the time and money invested, it's easier and more reliable to use 3/16" steel skids.
it's been a while since i looked at your pics, i dont remember if you have a utility-style bumper like scott's or something different...but if you haven't already, trading the stock bumper and receiver hitch for a custom job offers a great place to save weight by combining functionality while reinforcing the frame, and greatly improving your departure angle. if youve already trimmed the bedsides below the frame from behind the rear wheel, the bumper can be pretty high off the ground, with lighter-weight tube since you wont be hitting it as much. tube corners/bash protection on the rear bumper is a great place to spend a little extra for moly, on a wraparound rear bumper you can trade 1.75" o/d 0.180 wall tube for 1-5/8 o/d thinner wall moly, it will be just as strong, add a hundred bucks (roughly) to your build cost, and weigh 30-40# less than mild steel. even for a swing-out, if you take your time and look in to materials and designs that will work vs throwing steel at the problem, you can build lightweight as well as functionally strong as something built from heavy square tube. front bumper is another good place to do this...you can get a better approach angle and bring the cg back towards the center of the vehicle, but low-prof, rigid front bumpers arent worth anything in a front end collision.
got alloy wheels? synthetic winch line? do you use your tailgate, or would some tube that latches in the same place and carries a few tools be more appropriate? it will be lighter than the gate, structurally more capable of supporting things bolted to it, and you can always skin it with aluminum, plastic or more fiberglass (think expo-style tiregate).
i dont have access to a bender, thats the only reason i havent done the tailgate etc. yet...but everything else is either already done or in the works.
-sean
